Tehran: Austria has denied a visa to Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami, preventing him from attending an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conference in Vienna, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported.
Eslami, who heads Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, had planned to travel to Vienna on Saturday with a delegation to attend the conference. However, the delegation later returned to Tehran after Eslami was denied a visa, according to IRIB.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei confirmed the visa refusal on Monday and said Tehran had formally protested the decision.
Baqaei described the refusal as “absolutely unjustified” and said Iran had summoned Austria’s charge d’affaires to raise the issue.
He also said US pressure should not prevent host countries from fulfilling their obligations, according to the statement reported by IRIB.
Eslami’s planned attendance at the IAEA conference would have brought Iran’s top nuclear official to Vienna, where the UN nuclear agency is based. His absence followed Austria’s decision not to issue him a visa.
The Iranian delegation had travelled to Vienna for the conference but returned to Tehran after the visa issue prevented Eslami from participating, IRIB reported.
Iran has since raised the matter through diplomatic channels, with Baqaei confirming that Austria’s charge d’affaires was summoned by the Foreign Ministry.
The spokesman said Tehran expected host countries to meet their responsibilities and objected to what it described as outside pressure affecting such decisions.
The visa refusal has prevented Eslami from taking part in the IAEA conference in Vienna, while Iran has formally protested the decision through diplomatic channels.
